Useful Words for Finding Primary Sources in the Library Catalog
To find books that reproduce primary sources on your topic, you need to enter the topic (or person) you are researching and one of the following subjects:
Archives, correspondence, diaries, interviews, letters, manuscripts, maps, memoirs, narratives (personal, slave, etc.), photographs, propaganda, sources, speeches.
If you want to find reproductions of important primary sources from U.S. history, then you can do a subject search for United States History Sources in the EWU catalog.
Another way of finding primary sources written by a specific historical figure is to enter the person's name into one search box and then the term author in another search box (do it as a Subject search). It should return materials that were written by that person.
Find Books, Videos
Having problems requesting items via Summit? Please contact the JFK Circulation Desk at 509.359.7888, circulation@ewu.edu, or in person on the main level.
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Databases Containing Primary Sources
*Note: For historical newspapers, see the Newspapers tab on the left hand navigation pane.
- African American Experience This link opens in a new windowScholarly books and encyclopedias, as well as primary source documents for the history and culture of the African American community.
- American Indian Experience This link opens in a new windowScholarly books and encyclopedias, as well as hundreds of primary source documents and photographs for the histories and cultures of the Native American peoples.
- American State Papers 1789-1838 This link opens in a new windowCongressional and Executive Branch reports, complementing the U.S. Congressional Serial Set.
- Artstor This link opens in a new windowImages of art, architecture, photographs and videos from art museums from around the world. Keyword search or browse by collection, type, or geography. Create an individual account to download the images. Downloaded images can be used in the classroom and non-commercial educational use.
- Asian American Experience This link opens in a new windowThe Asian American Experience applies a critical lens to the study of U.S. history, exploring the social, political, and economic forces that have shaped the experiences of Asian Americans in distinct historical eras. The database also explores some of the rich and varied experiences of Native Hawaiians and other Pacific Island and indigenous groups. This database offers a rich and diverse variety of primary sources, including images, audio clips, documents, and video, covering multiple dimensions of Asian American history and culture.
- Civil Rights and Social Justice (HeinOnline) This link opens in a new windowPublications covering the expansion of civil rights protections and definitions in the United States. Includes hearings, committee prints, legislative histories, CRS and GAO reports, briefs from landmark Supreme Court cases, and publications from the Commission on Civil Rights.
- Early American Imprints 1639-1800 & 1801-1819 This link opens in a new windowBooks, pamphlets, broadsides and other imprints listed in the renowned bibliographies by Charles Evans (1639-1800) and Ralph R. Shaw and Richard H. Shoemaker (1801-1819).
- European Views of the Americas: 1493-1750 (EBSCOhost) This link opens in a new windowOnline version of “European Americana: A Chronological Guide to Works Printed In Europe Relating to The Americas, 1493-1750”. Contains entries for texts written in Europe before 1750.
- Historical Statistics of the United States This link opens in a new windowThematic essays and data sets on population, economics, labor, government, crime, etc., from Colonial times up to to 2000. You may download the data into Excel as well as dynamically create graphs.
- Latino American Experience This link opens in a new windowPrimary and secondary sources,including biographies, on the history and culture of Latinos living in the United States.
- Newspapers.com This link opens in a new windowNewspapers.com Library Edition is an extensive online database of 4,000+ historical newspapers from the early 1700s into the 2000s. This collection contains a diverse blend of well-known regional and local newspapers in the U.S. and other countries.
- Nineteenth Century British Pamphlets This link opens in a new window19th Century British Pamphlets, created by Research Libraries UK (RLUK), contains the most significant British pamphlets from the 19th century held in research libraries in the United Kingdom.
- Readers' Guide Retrospective: 1890-1982 (EBSCOhost) This link opens in a new windowIndexing from magazines and a few journals.
- Slavery in America and the World: History, Culture & Law (HeinOnline) This link opens in a new windowMultitude of essential legal materials on slavery in the United States and the English-speaking world. Access to most content except some scholarly articles.
- Struggles for Freedom: Southern Africa This link opens in a new windowThe liberation of Southern Africa and the dismantling of the Apartheid regime was one of the major political developments of the 20th century, with far-reaching consequences for people throughout Africa and around the globe. This collection focuses on the complex and varied liberation struggles in the region, with an emphasis on Botswana, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, and Zimbabwe. It brings together materials from various archives and libraries throughout the world documenting colonial rule, dispersion of exiles, international intervention, and the worldwide networks that supported successive generations of resistance within the region.
- U.S. Congressional Serial Set -- 1817-1980 This link opens in a new windowFull-text Congressional reports, documents & journals from 1817 to 1980.
- Women’s Studies Archive (Gale Primary Sources) This link opens in a new windowProvides a history of the social, political, and professional aspects of women's lives and offers a look at the roles, experiences, and achievements of women in society with a focus on the 19th and 20th centuries. Access to diaries, letters, photographs, news clippings, organizational records, and journals on issues such as societal contributions, social status, and women's movements and more.